Convertible roof for a station wagon

ABSTRACT

A convertible roof for a station wagon having a pair of roof members oriented along the length of the wagon. Each of said members is pivotally mounted along one of their sides to opposite side walls of the wagon. Seal means are provided along the mating edges of each of said members for holding them together in a water-tight fit. The seal means in one embodiment include tongues along their common edge which fit together in overlaping relationship. Brace means are provided for supporting the roof members when they are pivoted to an open position.

United States Patent 1191 Ormont Jan.1,1974

[ CONVERTIBLE ROOF FOR A STATION WAGON [76] Inventor: Louis Ormont, 115Central Park West, New York, N.Y.

[22] Filed: Nov. 1, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 194,287

52 U.S.Cl 296/1378 51 rm. c1 B60j 7/10 58 Field of Search 296/137 B,100, 26;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1968 Smith... 296/l37 B7/1933 12/1962 Hansen Reardon Primary ExaminerRobert R. SongAttorneyRoland Plottel et al.

[ ABSTRACT A convertible roof for a station wagon having a pair of roofmembers oriented along the length of the wagon. Each of said members ispivotally mounted along one of their sides to opposite side walls of thewagon. Seal means are provided along the mating edges of each of saidmembers for holding them together in a watertight fit. The seal means inone embodiment include tongues along their common edge which fittogether in overlaping relationship. Brace means are provided forsupporting the roof members when they are pivoted to an open position.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures CONVERTIBLE ROOF FOR A STATION WAGON Theinvention relates generally to motorized vehicles, and more particularlyto station wagons.

The station wagon model of automobile is widely owned by individuals andhome owners where it is used as a family or residential vehicle. Afamily chooses a station wagon rather than a sedan, because of itsadditional carrying space. The large open space at the back of thestation wagon may be used by a housewife for her groceries, by thehusband for hauling garden supplies and lumber for repairs. When thefamily goes on vacation, the station wagon affords additional space inwhich to put luggage or camping equipment.

The ownership of the station wagon model over a sedan is often dictatedby the considerations of additional trunk space. While most families donot often need, or use, this additional trunk space of the stationwagon, there are several times every year when a family requires thisadditional space. The occasional need for additional carrying capacityprompts many families to purchase the wagon, rather than a sedan andthen rent a small truck or trailer, or engage the services of a lightmover when it is necessary to move a large load. Thus, the traditionalstation wagon is an acceptable vehicle for family use, while at the sametime providing the additional carrying capacity that is required severaltimes during the year by a normal household.

Over the years, many improvements have been made in station wagon designwhich have facilitated the loading and unloading of the wagon. Forexample, recently a rear door has been introduced that both pivotsvertically on the side of the wagon, as well as horizontally as in thetraditional station wagon with the drop tailgate. Another innovation hasbeen the tail-gate hinged at the top of the wagon, which opens upwardrather than down. The advantage here is that it is easier to load thewagon in rainy weather, and that it is not necessary to climb over thetail-gate in order to reach into the rear of the wagon.

However, with all these improvements, in station wagon design, there arestill many objects which do not fit, or which are very difficult to fitinto the family station wagon. For example, a chest of drawersinvariably has to be laid down before being put into the wagon, becausegenerally the roof is too low to permit the chest to stand upright. Iftwo chests of drawers are to be transported, one must be laid on top ofthe other, or they must be taken singly one at a time. Large size bedsand bed frames, do not fit into the standard station wagon, and must beeither strapped onto the top of the wagon, or a carry-all trailer orsmall truck must be rented to transport them. Furthermore, when there isa large household load to be carried such as for a camping vacation, theroof of the wagon is just slightly too low to accommodate all of theequipment. And once the back of the wagon is filled, it is necessary toput additional items on the middle seat or to strap them onto the roofof the wagon. Thus, there are several occasions in the course of eachyear in which the station wagon owner finds that his wagon is just notlarge enough to carry the chest of drawers, bed, camping equipment, orother item that he has to transport. Thus, the wagon owner is left onthese occasions without the advantages of the trunk capacity of thewagon that he had originally hoped would be available from the vehicle.And as a practical matter, he must search for means other than hisfamily station wagon for transporting his goods.

The present invention provides a novel station wagon openable roofassembly, which avoids these shortcomings of conventional stationwagons. Every man can thus become his own mover.

The invention contemplates in one embodiment a vehicle with a stationwagon type body. That portion of the roof of the wagon, for exampleextending from just behind the drivers or front seat, to the rear of thewagon, is made of two openable portions. Typically, the two openableroof members extend along the length of the wagon and are hinged to theside walls of the wagon. The openable roof portions, when necessary, areswung out and open, thereby leaving that portion of the station wagonfrom just behind the front or drivers seat to the rear of the wagonentirely opened. In normal every day use, the roof members of the wagonare kept down, or in closed position. However, on those occasions whenit is necessary to put a very large object in the station wagon, or toincrease its carrying volume, the roof members would be swung open ontheir hinges so as to provide additional space. The additional spacewould only be limited by how high an object could be carried in the openroofed wagon.

The feature of being able to open the top of the wagon has an additionaladvantage, namely that of facilitating the loading and unloading of thewagon. In normal use, the baggage entered into the back of a wagon isjust pushed in over the tail-gate. However, there are certaincircumstances when the items being carried have to be carefullypositioned within the wagon. The person doing the loading has to spendsome time in the rear of the wagon. Where such loading or unloading isnecessary, it is possible with the wagon of this invention to first dropthe tail-gate of the wagon, and then open the roof of the wagon.Thereby, a person may mount on the tail-gate and walk into the back ofthe wagon to do whatever loading or unloading is necessary, withouthaving to constantly crouch, crawl and bend inside the rear portion ofthe wagon, as was previously necessary in the conventional wagon.

It will be appreciated that the feature of being able to open the reartop of the wagon will also facilitate cleaning of the inside of thewagon, in that when cleaning the wagon it is possible to stand erect,and it is not necessary to crouch in an awkward position.

When the roof members of the wagon are in the closed position, it isimperative that the roof be completely weather-proof, i.e., not admitany water due to rain or melting snow and ice. The joint of the roofmembers must be weather-tight not only at their common interface, butalso be weather-tight at their hinged edges where they join the sides ofthe car, as well as at their front and rear portions where they join thefront fixed roof and the rear roof or tail-gate top. The presentinvention includes means for providing such a watertight seal.

The convertible wagon-top may be manually opened and closed. In oneembodiment, however, provision is made for automatically raising andlowering the convertible roof. The control of the opening and closing ofthe convertible top may be either semi-automatic, such as by crankingthe roof up and down; or may be completely automatic, such as with anelectric driven motor operated by a finger control on the dashboard ofthe car. The latter control would be similar to the raising and loweringof the rear window in a station wagon having an automatic rear window.

A station wagon constructed in accordance with the invention will beoperated a good deal of the time with the top down, or with theconvertible roof in the closed position. It is, therefore, importantthat the roof not only be sealed against wet weather, but also bemechanically strong enough so as to prevent unnecessary rattling andshaking. In one embodiment of the invention, there is shown a means forproviding a mechanically tight fitting of the roof elements together.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a station wagonwhich can carry oversized and large objects which cannot easily beentered into a conventional fixed roof station wagon.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stationwagon whose trunk space is expandable so as to carry a large volume ofbaggage.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stationwagon which may be opened and closed.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide astation wagon whose roof may be opened and closed either manually orautomatically.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stationwagon with a convertible roof and in which the roof is weather-tight ordry when the roof is in a closed position.

According to the invention there is provided a convertible roof for astation wagon having a pair of roof members oriented along the length ofthe wagon with each of said members being pivotally mounted along one oftheir sides to opposite side walls of the wagon. The roof members haveseal means along the opposite side of each of said members for holdingthe roof members together with a water-tight fit when said members arein a closed position, and brace means for supporting said roof memberswhen pivoted to an opened position.

The construction of illustrative embodiments as well as further objectsand advantages thereof, will become apparent when read in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a station wagon having the convertibleroof of this invention, and showing in phantom the roof in an openedposition.

FIG. 2 is a section view of a hinge member shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken through a portion of one roof memberalong the lines 3-3 as shown in FIG.

. FIG. 4 is a view of the roof member of FIG. 3 shown in the openposition.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional veiw of a roof member and illustrating analternative embodiment of the invention. j

FIG. 6' is a view of the support member of FIG. 4 taken along lines 6-6of FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a stationwagon 10. The wagon has a right side 12R and a left side 2L, and a roofshown generally as 14. The forward part of the roof extending from thefront windshield l6 backwards to a position 18 approximately just behindthe front or drivers seat, is a roof portion 20 whose outer surface iscontinuous with the body of the automobile. The remainder of the wagontop extending rearward from the front portion of the roof 18 to the backend 22 of the station wagon is divided into two sections, 30R and 30L.These two sections 30R and 30L, are hinged to the sides of the main bodyof the car 12R and 12L respectively. The roof sections 30R and 30L areshown in FIG. 1 in both their down or closed position, and in phantom,in their hinged up position.

Three hinges 32 are provided for each section 30R and 30L. Each hinge 32has a large heavy duty covered weather-proof clamp-type hinge which isshown in cross-sectional detail in FIG. 2. Clamp 32 is of the kind thatpermits the roof sections 30R and 30L to open approximately At thispoint, the C shaped jaw of the clamp 32a will rest against the C shapedjaw 32b of the lower portion of the clamp and thereby prevent the rooffrom opening further. The hinges 32 are mounted in a recess on theinside of the roof portions 30 and the side walls 12 such that the twoedge portions of the roofs 30 and the side walls 12 are tight alongtheir entire length. To insure dryness at this joint, a gasket may beinserted down the length of the edges of the roof portion 30, and theside walls 12.

A run off track 40 is located above the hinges 32 on the roof section.Thus, water from the roof is caught by the gutter or run off track 40and tends to thereby reduce the amount of water in the hinge and jointarea of the convertible roof.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 33 of FIG. 1 showinga portion of the roof section 30L, 30R, and the right side 12R. Thehinge arrangement here 42 is slightly different than the hingearrangement 32 shown in FIG. 2. Hinge 42 is a concealed hinge and isshown attached to the roof 30R by bolts 44 and attached to the side wall12R by bolts 46. A weather stripping, or gasket (not shown) may beprovided in the crack where the roof section 30R joins the side wall12R. As in the case of FIG. 2, the rain gutter or run off water track 40is provided on the roof section above the hinge 42.

At the junction of the right and left roof sections 30R and 30L, thereis provided a weatherproof seal. The left section 30L is shown having atongue 50L which overlaps a corresponding tongue 50R of the right roofsection 30R. A channel 52 is provided within the tongue 50R of the rightroof section and extends along its length. A protruding member 54extends outwardly from the tongue 50L of the left roof section, andmates with the channel 52. A gasket, or weather strip seal, 56, ispositioned on the upper face of the right most tongue 50Lto provide atight seal and avoid water-seepage.

The gasket56 is shown here only on the horizontal plane between theupper and lower'tongues 50L and 50R. However, the gasket 56 may beextended into the vertical cracks at the vertical edges of the tongues50L and 50R. The area of overlap of the tongues 50L and 50R is typicallya few inches.

The lower tongue 50R is slightly shorter than that of the upper tongue50L. The purpose of this is to have the right most, or outer most edgeof the tongue 50L fit flat against the side of the roof 30R at theposition shown in the drawings by legend 58. With the upper member 50Lslightly longer than the lower member 50R, this tight fit is possible.Thus, there is a smooth fit, or simply a crack along the top of the car.If this arrangement is not employed, it is possible that there would bea small space between the right most edge of member 50L and the surface58 of the right roof section. And this section would tend to collectwater and debris.

A snap clamp 60 having an eye 62 on the right roof member and a hook andclamp portion 64 and 66-respectively onthe left roof member 30L is usedto draw the two roof members 30R and 30L together in the horizontalplane. This clamp fastener which is of the resilient type, holds theedge 58 of the right roof member firmly against the right most side ofthe left roof member at 50L. The clamp also exerts a certain amount ofresilient grip in the vertical direction and thus also tends to tightenthe seal on the gasket 56. The fastener 60 is opened or released bypulling down on the clamp member 66 at its left end which pivots about apoint 68 to release the hoop 64 from the eye member 62.

A similar weather-proof seal is provided between the front roof portion20 and the openable roof sections 30R and 30L. The front edge of theright and left roof sections are provided with lip sections or flangeswhich overhang an underlying lip or flange on the rear portion of theroof section 20'. A channel and mating groove are provided upon oppositemating faces of the lip areas. A gasket or weather seal is also providedin this mating region. Finally, a snap clamp similar to snap clamp 60may be provided to hold the fixed roof sections 30R and 30L in a tightfit.

The rear edges of the openable roof sections 30R and 30L may fit onto ahorizontal roof post 22 on the rear of the wagon. The rear edge of theopenable roof sections 30R and 30L as well as the forward edge portionof the post 22 are fitted with matched flanges which have a ,channel andprotruding groove, gaskets, and clamps as at the forward edge of theroof section, and which provide a tight fit between the rear post 22 andthe openable roof sections 30. Alternatively, the wagon may be without arear horizontal member 22 and the back portions of the openable roof 30Rand 30L rest upon the top of the rear window, or upon the top of thetail-gate door. The roof members 30R and 30L extend in a protrudingfashion rearward beyond the top of the tail-gate door. This overhangdirects rain water beyond the back edge of the wagons rear door and roofand aids in keeping the wagon dry. A gasket may be formed ,on the insidesurface of the roof members 30, where the top of the tail-gate joins theroof in a closed position. A channel is preferably provided for fittingof the top of the tail-gate into the roof when it is in a closedposition.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is illustrated the roof member 30Rin the closed position in FIG. 3 and in the braced opened position inFIG. 4. When the roof 30 is in the opened position, its lower end restson a support flange 70 mounted on the side wall 12R of the wagon. Flange70 provides rigid mechanical support and defines the limit of clockwisemost pivotation of roof section 30R. A support brace 72 is shown in FIG.3 in its inoperative position, and in FIG. 4 in its operative or in useposition. The brace 72 holds the roof section 30 in the opened positionand prevents it from pivotation in the counter clockwise direction.Thus, when the roof is opened, it is held in the opened position by theflange 70 (which prevents it from moving clockwise) and by the brace 72which prevents it from moving counter clockwise.

The brace 72 is pivotally mounted at one end on a pivot 74 located nearthe outer edge of the roof section. Its other end is equipped with ahook 76. When the roof is closed the brace is stored in a not-in-useposition, as shown in FIG. 3, and is fastened to the roof by a springclamp 78. When the brace is in the in-use position, as shown in FIG. 4,the hook 76 is attached to a hook eye, 80, mounted on the side wall 12R.Typically, the hook eye 80 and the flange are of a single piece, or areconnected together and thereby provide a good support for the roofsection when in the opened position. The hook 76 may be curved invarious ways so as to improve its gripping of the hook eye 80. Aretaining look of the kind used on ship cables may also be employed onthe hook to avoid its slipping out of the eye 80.

In a typical operation of opening the roof sections, the clamps 60 whichare along the common edge of the roof sections and the roof section andfixed roof 20 are snapped open, releasing the right and left roofsections from each other, and from the fixed roof. The left section isfirst lifted out into the up position, and its braces 72 are thenattached. (Braces are not shown for the left section in these drawings,but it is understood that there are several braces for the left sectionas there are for the right section.) The right section is then liftedinto the up position and the braces 72 are snapped into position. Toclose the roof section the right most section is first taken down byremoving the hook 76 of the braces 72 from the hook eyes 80 after whichthe roof section is pivoted counter clockwise to the down position.After this, the same procedure is followed for the left most section andthe clamp rings 64 are put into the clamp eye 62. The handles 66 arethen snapped shut which pulls the right and left sections together intight fit.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown an al ternativeembodiment of the invention. In these figures there is shown anautomatic means for raising and lowering the roof sections. In FIG. 5,the roof is shown in the down position, and is also shown in phantom inthe up or opened position. Besides each hinge 42 and between the windowspaces on each side of the station wagon are three hollow steel channels82. Only one of these channels is shown in the figures, but it isunderstood that two more are positioned at appropriate intervals alongthe length of the roof section. Within these channels is a threaded jackmember 83 which advances upward or downward in the channels inaccordance with its rotation. .A motor 84 is shown schematicallyconnected to'the-threaded member 83 for causing rotation of the threadedmember 83. At the upper end of the threaded member below the roof is ajoint member 86 which has a cylindrical aperture 88 in its lower end forreceiving the upper end of the threaded member 83. The cylindricalsection is of such a diame-, ter that the threaded member may turneasily and freely therein. Suitable bearing surfaces, such as a ballbearing (not shown) may be included at the interface. The joint haspivotally mounted in its upper end on a pivot 90 a follower 92. Thepivot permits the follower 92 to turn in a direction transverse thelength of the automobile. The upper end of the follower 92 fits into aguide track 94 mounted in the roof 30R. This can best be seen in FIG. 6.When the motor is activated, it causes threaded member 83 to rotate. Therotation engages the nut in channel members 82 and causes the threadedmember 83 to rise. This in turn pushes against the lower portion of thejoint at 88 and causes the joint to rise exerting pressure on thefollower member 92 which in turn applies pressure to the roof 30R. Asthe roof begins to rise, pivoting on hinges 40, the follower 92 slips inthe guide track 94. As the roof rises, the follower 92 moves from ahorizontal position shown in dark lines in FIG. to a vertical positionas shown in phantom in FIG. 5. As the roof moves, the follower 92 pivotson the pivot 90 so that when the roof is completely opened the follower92 is in the horizontal position as shown in phantom in FIG. 5. Theguide way 94 terminates at a point 96. (The joint 86 is provided with astop which prevents the guide 92 from rotating further clockwise thanits position shown in FIG. 5.) Thus, the rigid bar of the threadedmember 83, in combination with the joint=86and the follower 92 at theend of the guide way 94 against the stop 96 provides a support for theroof sections when in the opened position.

As an alternative embodiment there may be used in place of the threadedmember 83 and motor drive 84, a notched bar with ratchet lever drive.The notched bar would be mounted in channels similar to the channel 82used for the threaded member, however, the notched bar would be raisedand lowered with ratchet lever jacks similar to the kind of jacks usedto raise automobiles. When in the raised position, the notched bar ofthe jacks would serve as a supporting rib to the convertible roofpreventing it from collapsing inwards.

lf thought desirable and needed, additional support braces may beprovided for the roof when it is in the opened position, for example, abar (not shown) may be attached to the upper outer ends of the roofsections 30R and 30L in the horizontal position when they are in theopened position.

Thus, there has been shown and described a station wagon roof which maybe opened or closed at the drivers will. When in the closed position,the roof would be dry and be no different than a conventional stationwagon roof, which is permanently closed. When in the opened position,however, the station wagon would be capable of being loaded with tallobjects which would not fit into a closed station wagon, or with alarger volume of objects that could be fitted into the closed stationwagon. Thus, the carrying or transporting ability of the station wagonis vastly increased. The versatility of the wagon to remain closed andoperate as a conventional wagon, or to be opened and carry oversized andlarger volume or baggage, would without much difficulty permit thefamily station wagon to take on those additional transportation choreswhich heretofore have not been possible with conventional stationwagons.

There has been shown and described a station wagon whose roof sectionmay be opened and braced opened and which is based in the openedposition for retaining the wagon. There has also been described meansfor keeping the roof securely closed and to keep out the wetness and toprevent the collection of debris at the 5 joint between the roofsections.

Although illustrative embodiments of this invention have been describedin detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effectedtherein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope orspirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A convertible roof for a station wagon comprising a pair of roofmembers oriented along the length of the wagon, each of said membersbeing pivotally mounted along one of their sides to opposite side wallsof the wagon; seal means along the other side of each of said membersfor holding, when in a closed horizontal position, said members togetherin a water tight fit and having overlapping tongues along their commonedge; said seal means includes at least two snap clamps for straddelingthe common edge and '-resiliently holding the roof members together andbrace means for supporting said roof members when pivoted to an openposition.

2. A convertible roof according to claim 1 wherein a water run off trackis mounted on the roof members above their pivotal mounting to reducewater in the pivotal region.

3. A convertible roof according to claim 1 wherein the tongues include amating channel and a protruding member respectively on opposite tongues.

4. A convertible roof according to claim 3 wherein said seal meansincludes a gasket along the common edge of the two roof members.

5. A convertible roof according to claim 1, wherein the outer tongue islonger than the inner tongue.

6. A convertible roof for a station wagon according to claim 1, whereinsaid snap clamps are on the inside of said station wagon roof, and saidseal means along said common edge of said members is flush with theoutside of said station wagon roof when closed.

7. A convertible roof for a station wagon according to claim 1, whereinsaid common edge of the said roof members includes vertical abuttingfaces, and said snap clamps exert a larger horizontal force for holdingsaid together.

1. A convertible roof for a station wagon comprising a pair of roofmembers oriented along the length of the wagon, each of said membersbeing pivotally mounted along one of their sides to opposite side wallsof the wagon; seal means along the other side of each of said membersfor holding, when in a closed horizontal position, said members togetherin a water tight fit and having overlapping tongues along their commonedge; said seal means includes at least two snap clamps for straddelingthe common edge and resiliently holding the roof members together andbrace means for supporting said roof members when pivoted to an openposition.
 2. A convertible roof according to claim 1 wherein a water runoff track is mounted on the roof members above their pivotal mounting toreduce water in the pivotal region.
 3. A convertible roof according toclaim 1 wherein the tongues include a mating channel and a protrudingmember respectively on opposite tongues.
 4. A convertible roof accordingto claim 3 wherein said seal means includes a gasket along the commonedge of the two roof members.
 5. A convertible roof according to claim1, wherein the outer tongue is longer than the inner tongue.
 6. Aconvertible roof for a station wagon according to claim 1, wherein saidsnap clamps are on the inside of said station wagon roof, and said sealmeans along said common edge of said members is flush with the outsideof said station wagon roof when closed.
 7. A convertible roof for astation wagon according to claim 1, wherein said common edge of the saidroof members includes vertical abutting faces, and said snap clampsexert a larger horizontal force for holding said vertical abutting facestogether than the vertical force for holding said overlapping portionsof said tongues together.